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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26150068">the circus is in town</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cant_help_falling/pseuds/cant_help_falling'>cant_help_falling</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Homestuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Circus, F/F, F/M, Humanstuck, M/M, Minor Character Death, Terezi Pyrope Isn't Blind</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:54:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,224</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26150068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cant_help_falling/pseuds/cant_help_falling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>karkat vantas is the ringmaster of an eccentric travelling circus. when they pitch up in a small village, suddenly there are four new faces desperate to join the bunch.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aradia Megido &amp; Tavros Nitram, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Eridan Ampora &amp; John Egbert, Jade Harley/Nepeta Leijon, Nepeta Leijon &amp; Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Sollux Captor/Aradia Megido (Background), Terezi Pyrope/Vriska Serket (Background)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nepeta fell out of her hammock with a thump. Instinctively, she curled up, landing on the floor about as graciously as one can while half asleep. She stayed sat on the floor for about a minute as she tried to wake up fully, sleep still clouding her mind. She soon realised her carriage wasn't moving, meaning they had made it to the next village. She jumped to her feet quickly and went to wake her sister, hoping they could sneak out before everyone else woke up. She stopped in her tracks.</p><p>"Stop it," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. "She died, remember? Dead. Stop fucking pretending." She pulled on her boots anyway, hoping the crisp morning air would clear her mind.</p><p> The sun was just peeking over the horizon as she stepped out of her trailer and onto the damp grass. She quickly ran across the field and onto the street, the air much colder than expected. The streets were empty, but she could hear the marketplace coming to life as people began setting up their stalls. She approached a fruit stand, buying a few bruised apples for cheap, before moving on to some of the more interesting tables. Nepeta walked around for a while, admiriring the various wares, before heading back towards the fields.</p><p>She spent the next hour or so drawing. She drew her friends, of course, but also some of the town people. They interested her, with their seemingly simple lives, because she knew that most were hiding something. She liked to imagine what their secrets were - maybe the man at the fruit stall was secretly a dazzling ballerina, or maybe the woman selling fabric was considered royalty in some foreign land.</p><p>She only stopped drawing when she heard Karkat knock on her door, saying that they had to eat now if they wanted to set up the tent on time.  She called back that she'd be there in a minute, before tucking her sketchbook in her box. She decided that this time she would wear a coat, hoping the avoid the chill.</p><p>She squeezed next to Equius on the wooden bench, hoping his large frame would provide warmth. He picked her up effortlessly and sat her down on his lap - protecting her from the wind. Their new act had allowed them to get a lot closer recently and she was thankful for that; Equius was lovely and she was so happy to call him her friend. Kanaya was giving her a concerned look from across the circle, but Kanaya was always giving her concerned looks so she paid it no mind. Instead, she slipped one of the apples out of her pocket and tucked it into one of Equius' large hands. He mumbled a quick <em>thankyou</em> in appreciation, before taking a hearty bite out of the fruit. She tossed another towards Aradia and Tavros, who nodded at her gratefully before splitting it in half. The last apple went to Vriska and Terezi, who cheered at the gift. Sollux pouted at her, but she simply stuck her tongue out at him before taking a bowl of porridge from Karkat. When Karkat turned his back, however, she poured some of her rations into Sollux's bowl.</p><p>After the tent was finally erected, everyone went to either practice or enjoy some free time. Nepeta walked over to her trailer to get her equipment, only to feel a hand on her shoulder.  "Where are you going? It's our practice slot now," asked Equius, a confused expression on his face. </p><p>"I'm just going to get my-" She stopped herself. She didn't do trapeze any more, her act was with Equius now. He looked at her sadly before lightly patting her shoulder. She sighed and followed him over to the tent.  Kanaya smiled at them as they walked in, before busying herself with her silks. Nepeta watched in envy as Kanaya lifted off the ground, the bright material supporting her tall frame and allowing her to float.  As soon as Kanaya started to flip, she had to turn away. She distracted herself with stretching and bending herself into a few practice shapes before allowing Equius to pick her up so they could practice their routine.</p><p>He set her down after a couple of hours, and she watched in awe as he lifted up large objects as though they weighed nothing to him. After a while, Kanaya came and sat down next to her.<br/>
"How are you doing today, Nepeta? You seem a bit far away, even when you were practising," she asked, her eyes soft. Nepeta hesitated for a moment before answering.</p><p>"I'm fine, I just keep forgetting she's gone y'know? And then I realize and it just makes me so mad with myself. What kind of idiot can't remember her own sister died!" She sighed and shook her head. "It's just all messed up. But I'm doing better, I promise." </p><p>Kanaya pulled her into a side hug and planted a kiss on the side of her forehead. "It's normal, I promise," she said  "The forgetting is normal. But we're all proud of you for staying with us and working through it. We would've understood if you wanted to leave."</p><p>"I wouldn't leave you, you guys are my family too, even if we aren't related. Plus, where would I go? The circus is all I have." she smiled sadly, before hopping to her feet. "The others need to come practice now, so we need to get out. You can come back to my trailer if you want, but you'll have to deal with Sollux if you do. I promised him I'd draw him today.<br/>
Kanaya laughed, "I'm sure I'll manage."</p><p>The show that night went perfectly. The crowd listened intently to Karkat's words, laughed heartily at Gamzee's antics and watched Terezi and Vriska in awe. They marvelled at Kanaya's graceful tricks and applauded loudly for Nepeta and Equius.  </p><p>As she bent herself into more complex shapes, she couldn't help but notice four people in the back row cheering much louder than the rest of the crowd. Feeling daring, she pulled her arm out from where it was tucked under her, trusting that Equius would be able to support her, and gave the group a wave.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rose opened her window with a shove, the cold air making the joints stiff. The sun was already in the sky, hiding amongst the grey clouds. The town was loud and busy, but inside her house there was silence.</p>
<p> She led back down on her bed, spreading out her arms. The show last night had been spectacular, she had never seen anything like it. Thoughts of the beautiful girl flying in the silks would not leave her mind; the glow of her olive skin, the curve of her hips, the shine on her dark hair. She knew that she shouldn't think this way about another girl and that she should be focusing these feelings on maybe her friend John, but it couldn't hurt just to think it a little.</p>
<p>After a few more minutes, she got up off of her bed. She had already woken late, there simply wasn't enough time is the day for her to be fantasising. Her wardrobe was simple, but she liked it that way; she could walk around almost anywhere without attracting too much attention, which meant nobody would notice a 'sweet young lass' like her heading into the areas of the village that were deemed 'rough'.</p>
<p> Her dull purple skirt hung around her ankles, grazing the top of her feet. She pulled on a thick dark jacket, It was a little short on the arms but as long as she didn't go around stretching them out in front of her then it was unnoticeable. </p>
<p>She walked downstairs quickly, her pace nearer to a run. Her mother was probably still sleeping, but she didn't want to take any chances. The house was silent except for Rose's light footsteps on the wooden flooring and the drip of water from the leak in the roof. She opened the door quietly and slipped out onto the street.</p>
<p>Jade lived in what was considered a rough area, but Rose found almost everyone she encountered there to be pleasant enough for northern England. She rapped her knuckles on Jade's door quickly, hoping that she wouldn't be waiting outside for long. The cold was already seeping into her bones despite the jacket, and she didn't want to lose a finger anytime soon.</p>
<p>Luckily for her, Jade answered the door fairly quickly, pulling Rose into a warm hug almost immediately after. Jade was always warm, even on mornings like these, it was very reflective of her personality. She pulled away and welcomed Rose in, already chattering away about their outing the night before.</p>
<p> Rose laughed, "Yes, Jade, I remember! I was sitting right next to you, you know!" </p>
<p>Jade smiled sheepishly, before offering her friend a cup of tea. Rose nodded thankfully, sitting down on Jade's battered settee. </p>
<p>"So, where's John this morning? He's usually up bright and early," she remarked, accepting the warm mug from the other girl.</p>
<p>"He's still totally out of it! He was up till the early hours last night just talking about the show, but I suspect he'll be up soon. He never was one to sleep for long." she laughed, taking a sip from her own mug. "So, not that I don't adore you're presence Rose, love, but what are you doing in my house this fine Saturday morning? It can't just be for a natter," she asked.</p>
<p>"Well you see, I was hoping we could maybe try and go see the circus again?" she asked, her expression hopeful.</p>
<p>"But we just saw it last night, silly! And plus it wasn't cheap for those tickets missy!" Jade laughed.</p>
<p>"No, I mean like, now?"</p>
<p>"You mean we sneak in? Rose Lalonde, are you suggesting we sneak into the circus?"</p>
<p>"We don't have to! I just thought it might be-" she was interrupted by a very excited Jade jumping to her feet.</p>
<p>"Of course we can!" she all but shouted, already going to get her shoes on. Rose laughed, unsure how she ever thought Jade would say no to her idea; Jade was the more adventurous of the pair so it was only natural that she was down for a little trespassing here and there. Giggling, the two girls rushed out of the house and onto the cobbled streets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, they made it into the field that they were in the night before. The dirt had turned to mud from the previous night's rain, and the hem of Rose's skirt had turned from purple to brown. She pressed a finger to her lips as they slowly approached the trailers, and they tried to tread lightly to avoid the obscene squelching of the mud. The managed to make it into the tent undetected and then stood still in awe. </p>
<p>The silk girl from the night before was practising in the centre of the tent. She spun effortlessly, trusting the bright material to keep her safe. Rose was mesmerised as she climbed higher and higher, the silks wrapped tightly around her legs. Without warning, she dropped, rocketing towards the ground. Rose gasped loudly, her hands flying to her face and her eyes screwed up tightly.</p>
<p>When she didn't hear any screaming after a few moments, she opened her eyes gingerly. Instead of being a bloody mess on the floor, the girl was hovering in a split about a metre above the ground. Her arms were crossed and her expression was unamused.</p>
<p>"Pardon my language, but who the fuck are you?" she asked. She slid out of the silks and stood in front of the two girls. Her legs were long and slender and for the first time, Rose understood how tall she was and stood in front of her totally speechless. Thankfully, Jade sprang into action.</p>
<p>"Hi, I'm Jade Harley! This is my friend Rose, we saw your show last night and we thought it was wonderful! So we thought we might come to see you and let you know how great we thought it was!" she laughed, offering her hand towards the taller girl.</p>
<p>"Kanaya Maryam," she said absentmindedly "Is she always like that?" she asked, gesturing towards Rose.</p>
<p>At this, Rose finally snapped out of her stupor "Sorry about that, I'm Rose. I was just a little shocked over your trick. You're beautiful" she rushed, her cheeks flushing as she registered her words. </p>
<p>Kanaya laughed at that and Rose swore she had never heard a more wonderful noise. "Why thank you, Rose. You are rather beautiful yourself." she winked and then laughed again as Rose turned a deeper shade of red. At that moment, someone else walked into the tent.</p>
<p>"Kanaya, Vriska is- Oh! Do we have guests? Wait I know you guys, you were here last night!" she exclaimed, joining the group. "I'm Nepeta by the way. Leijon." </p>
<p>"This is Jade and Rose, they broke in just to tell us they think we're spectacular."</p>
<p>"You broke in? That's so cool!" she said, smiling widely "But anyways, Vriska needs you for something. Don't worry, I'll look after our new friends!"</p>
<p>Kanaya sighed dramatically but walked out of the tent all the same. <br/>"So, who wants to meet everyone else?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>a longer chapter this time + disaster repressed gay rose !</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>not me starting a new fic instead of updating my current one</p><p>pls sm1 suggest a better title jesus christ</p></blockquote></div></div>
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